“The handler and Avsec are naturally upset but do understand there were no other options, in the very difficult circumstances,” he said.

Andrea Midgen, the acting national chief executive for the SPCA, said the airport would only have shot Grizz as a last resort.

“I would say it’s one of those unfortunate accidents,” she said.

“They put a huge investment in those dogs to do the job they do, and they treat them as part of the family.”

Grizz was one of three puppies which joined the Avsec team in May 2016.

Avsec posted pictures of the trio at the time, but it wasn’t immediately clear which of the dogs was Grizz.

Midgen said her thoughts were with aviation security staff as they had lost an important team member.

“It would have been the hardest decision they’ve had to make.”

Richards said the focus in coming days would be on understanding what had gone wrong.

“Avsec will undertake a review of the incident to try and ascertain what spooked the dog, and if this has any implications for ongoing training,” he said.

Aviation Security Service (Avsec) dogs

Avsec’s explosive detector dogs (EDD) have different jobs than the customs and MPI pups, tasked with sniffing out explosives rather than drugs or food.

Each EDD has a human partner, or handler, and they work together to ensure no dangerous materials are present in our airports or on aircraft. They’re based in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.

The job requirements for an EDD are to be happy, confident, sociable, non-aggressive and love playing with toys. Avsec doesn’t discriminate by breed.